It’s been two years since I published my first book, Weathered: Finding Strength on the John Muir Trail. I recently finished recording the audiobook, which was much harder than I expected. It was just released, and you can find it on Audible and iTunes.
It took me five years to write this book. Putting your story out there is nerve-wracking, not knowing how people will react.
For much of my life, I let my fear of rejection control me and control my dreams in life. I feared failure and that I’d be laughed at if I failed. In 2018, I finally put those fears on the back burner and followed God’s purpose for my life. For the first time in my life, I was okay with whatever happened (even if it meant failure) because I knew that God had my best interests. Even if I failed according to the world, knowing that I was finally putting my best effort into life, I accepted my fate.
It’s been a wild and exhausting five years since I left my corporate job and started traveling full-time and writing. (I’ll have a post soon with an update with all of that). For now, I want to talk about Weathered. I think it’s important to reflect on milestones. I wanted to share how the book has done, not to brag, but to hopefully encourage some of you to follow your dreams, even if you’re afraid.
When the book was first released, it hit the following on Amazon:
- #1 New Release in Solo Travel Guides
- #2 New Release in Hiking & Camping Excursion Guides
- #4 New Release in Adventure Travel
Book Reviews
- Weathered was featured on Jacqui Murray’s website, Word Dreams. The title of her April 2022 article, “A Memoir About Nature You Don’t Want to Miss,” blew me away. Here’s an excerpt from her article, “If you like outdoor stories about people who push themselves to the limit just because they can, this is the book for you.”
- Kirkus Reviews is the industry-leading publication for book reviews. They are notorious for being very tough on books. For example, Eat, Pray, Love received a bad review despite becoming a best seller. I was nervous about submitting my book but was thrilled about my review. In it, they stated, “Teglo’s depictions of the natural wonders she viewed on the trail and her campfire conversations with fellow adventurers will motivate even the most devoted couch potato to think about lacing up a pair of hiking boots. An evocative hiking account that offers some powerful lessons.”
- I submitted my book to receive three reviews from Reader’s Favorite, and all three reviewers gave the book a 5-star rating. One reviewer said, “The memoir is gripping and expertly written. The author shares her emotions vividly, infusing the writing with powerful and compelling descriptions, evoking imagery that will captivate the imagination of readers. While this book follows the author’s hiking adventure, it has a metaphorical nature as it describes the author’s journey to the center of her life.”
- The blog, Backcountry Dirtbag, reviewed Weathered and gave it 5 stars. It states, “Those thirsty for more releases in the solo adventure travel genre will not be disappointed. Even non-hikers will enjoy a beautiful story about the powerful change that can result from stepping away from the relentless American work-life to reevaluate and regroup alone in nature.”
- Captive Dreams Window reviewed my book and stated, “Weathered: Finding Strength on the John Muir Trail is written in a way that you feel Christy is a friend telling you her story, causing you to feel the adrenalin rush and desire to hike the trail, too.”
Recommended Book Lists
- In this article, Jacqui explains that she read 189 books in 2022, and Weathered was in her top ten recommendations! What an honor.
- Recently, Jacqui had an article called, Today is We Love Memoirs Day, and Weathered was featured again.
- The website Shepherd provides readers with book recommendations. Elizabeth Wenk, who has written 18 books about nature, recommended my book as her favorite book about the John Muir Trail. She states, “I’ve read and enjoyed reading nearly every trail narrative on the John Muir Trail (JMT). I find it difficult to pick one to highlight as a favorite and ultimately selected Christy’s because I truly connected to her descriptions of self-discovery as she hiked the JMT. She reflected and learned from each mistake and internally celebrated each success. She describes her trip with humility, happily laughing at her own mistakes, yet simultaneously has a wonderful sense that she knew she would emerge from her trip stronger and she knew what was important to her. I cannot imagine a better book for a newcomer to long distance hiking; you’ll learn how much planning is required, but also how much you can only learn once on the trail.”
Podcasts
- The Hiking Thru Life Podcast host read Weathered and had me on to talk about the experience.
- The Oh My! Travel Podcast had me on to talk about my travels, and we ended up talking about Weathered and the experience of the hike.
What an awesome two years it’s been! I am humbled by the kind words and recognition the book has received. I feel so inspired when people tell me that the book inspired them to push themselves harder and further than they ever expected. Sometimes, it was hiking-related, but other times, it was with something that had been stirring inside their soul for a while.
I want to say a big THANK YOU to each person who has taken the time to read Weathered: Finding Strength on the John Muir Trail. It truly means the world to me. I love hearing how the book inspired you or even just hearing that it was an enjoyable read.
If you’ve read the book, please leave a review wherever you bought it from (Amazon) and on Good Reads.
I am in the process of writing my second book and should have it out in the next six months, so stay tuned!
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